I recently took the decision to go cruelty free with my makeup buying, and it’s been harder than I thought.

So, I thought I would explore how going cruelty free can save you money.

WHAT IS CRUELTY FREE?

Cruelty Free means that the products have NOT been manufactured OR tested on animals.

For years I was aware of the Cruelty-Free Movement but never took the plunge till last year.

I’ve been researching more and more into Halal Cosmetics and I’ve discovered that they use no animal products in the production, but since they’re not readily available yet, I decided to go cruelty free.

ADVANTAGES

The advantages of being cruelty free are:

You Won’t Spend As Much

Since you’re restricted to cruelty free brands, you won’t overspend on brands because unfortunately, cruelty free brands are not as prevalent in the high street or in high end.

I’m hoping this movement will change, but for now having to research every company before I purchase has saved me a lot of money.

There are a TON of non-cruelty free brands, but not all of them available at all the same places so inevitably you save money by not supporting the ones that do test on animals.

It’s Good For Animals

I’m not a vegetarian, but I’m pretty much terrified of any animal that comes my way, but I do believe in not inflicting pain on our furry and non-furry friends.

No Parabens and Nasty Chemicals

Since I’ve gone cruelty free, I’ve started with makeup and am slowly phasing into skincare, and my skin is looking better for it alhamdulillah.

Since non-cruelty free products have parabens and chemicals that can absorb into your bloodstream, this makes them dangerous and can cause a reaction in your body.

With cruelty free cosmetics, there are less likely to be parabens and chemicals that block your skin and therefore allow you to look and feel great.

DISADVANTAGES

There ARE some Disadvantages to going cruelty free that I think should be explored.

You are limited in what you can buy on the High Street

When you’re blissfully unaware of cruelty free products you can pop into any shop on the high street and buy products on sale.

When you become cruelty free, the choice shrinks down massively and it makes it tougher to just go buy a mascara or a lipstick as half the brands are not cruelty free so you may have to give up your favourite brands.

I’ll be honest, it did hurt a little when I found out my favourite teenage brand, Rimmel is not cruelty free but I’ve found that doing some research has meant I’ve found Essence available in Wilkinsons which is cruelty free and significantly cheaper!

It can be exhausting when researching Cruelty Free Brands

I’ve found it particularly tiring to research every time I go shopping on what brands are and are not cruelty free which is why I’m working on a cruelty free series In Shaa Allah (God Willing) to help my fellow cruelty free enthusiasts out when we go shopping.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, for me personally, the benefits outweigh the negatives for going cruelty free.

I’m not 100% cruelty free as yet, but I am working towards it by using up and not repurchasing my non-cruelty free products and trying to find dupes or even better products but it is SO HARD!